As candidates’ campaign meetings for Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Councils Elections gain momentum, the Electoral Commission has warned different camps that are flouting Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for conducting campaigns in a COVID-19 environment.
In a media statement, EC chairman Justice Simon Byabakama said they noted that some candidates are mobilizing their supporters to gather at campaign venues in large numbers.
“It is important to note that The Public Health (Control of COVID-19) (Amendment No.3) Rules, 2020, issued on 9th November 2020, provides that gatherings for purposes of political meetings should not exceed two hundred (200) persons,” Byabakama says.
Some candidates are conducting processions along public roads, through towns and trading centres, and are also holding rallies in nondesignated venues as per the harmonised campaign programme.
“This is in violation of the Commission’s Guidelines that the campaigns should be conducted in observance of SOPs and in designated places,” he added.
In the countrywide campaigns, some candidates are making impromptu stopovers in trading centres, attracting and addressing public gatherings along busy highways from their car rooftops.
These spontaneous public addresses are a violation of the Commission’s Guidelines which provides for conduct of campaign.
Byabakama advised candidates and their supporters to always wear face masks during public meetings, which if not adhered to puts all participants, including the candidates, at the risk of contracting COVID-19.
